


The Hunger Games From Peeta's Eyes

by CMarieBohley_Author



Series: The Hunger Games [1]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: AU, Action, Angst, Blood, Bohley, Carynn - Freeform, Character, Cute, Death, Dreams, F/M, Fighting, Fire, Games, Girl - Freeform, Hurt, Kissing, Long, Love, POV, Pain, Peeta - Freeform, Plot, Points of View, Popular, Romance, Teenagers, Tension, boy - Freeform, capital, careers, cato and clove, everlark, hunger, one - Freeform, switch - Freeform, teen, the
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-15 19:29:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18079532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMarieBohley_Author/pseuds/CMarieBohley_Author
Summary: Have you ever wondered about Peeta's experience in the games? Here's the 74th hunger games from his eyes.





	1. The Careers

The gong sounds.

It penetrates the air in a blast of fury, reverberating through the bright world around me and sending my ears ringing. It seems to last an eternity, the cry of the great gong, which signifies the beginning of the games.

The hunger games.

I start off blindly. My brain doesn’t seem to be functioning correctly, nor my heart. It beats at an unhealthy pace as I take off from the metal plate, letting my feet carry me forward at a speed I didn’t know I could move at.

_Where am I going? Why is it so bright?_

I realize with a pang of horror that I’m headed straight toward the cornucopia. The plan I constructed last night seems silly now. Even if Cato were to let me join the careers, I could be killed before I even reached him. But still, I have to try. It’s too late to turn back now, and anyway, Katniss’ life could depend on it.

If I can just keep the careers away from her…

I fall back as something hard makes contact with my jaw, and throw my arms out wildly at my attacker. I’m relieved to find that they’ve been held up from their approach by another opponent, and I’m able to get away. I ignore the throbbing pain in my jaw as I search the ground for a weapon, panic flooding through me. At any moment someone’s attention could turn on me.

At any moment I could have a sword through my back. At any moment… I spot the glistening silver of a blade and start toward it, crawling through the grass and hopefully out of sight. Just as I reach for the weapon, a moment before I can grasp the handle, a heavy boot stomps down on it.

I look up wearily to meet the eyes of the career from district one, Marvel. He’s tall, and stands looking down at me with a small smile playing on his lips. In his hand is a spear, which, from what I saw in public training, he’s an expert with.

I scramble backward, fear taking over my common sense. I back up against something and realize after a moment that it’s another one of the careers. The girl from Marvel’s district. Shimmer? Sparkle?

She twirls a dagger in her hand and smiles. “Hey, lover boy,” she says silkily, raising her voice above the sounds of screams and fighting that surround us. “Where’s your girlfriend?”

I swallow hard, and when I open my mouth to speak no sound comes out.

_Come on, Peeta, what are you doing?_ My mind screams at me. _Now’s the time to do it. To trick them into letting you join their group._

“Kill him, Glimmer,” Marvel says with exaggerated nonchalance.

_Glimmer_.

Glimmer smiles. “I want to ask him something first.” I watch her hesitantly as she kneels beside me and leans close to me, her green eyes sparkling. She lifts her dagger as if to remind me that she could slit my throat in a moment, and whispers, “Tell me something. If you really love your sweetheart Everdeen, are you ready to die for her?” When I don’t say anything, she presses the dagger against my throat.

I cough and struggle away from the blade. “What if...” I play up an act of hesitance. “What if I helped you find her?”

Glimmer’s eyes flash, and her smile widens. “Not so head over heels after all?” She thinks for a moment. “Hey, Cato,” she calls.

I scan the area while her attention is away, and realize that the field is mostly empty, save for the bodies of the dead and dying tributes.

The district two brute, Cato, comes swaggering over with his sword laying against his shoulder and a willowy brunette at his side. “What’s the problem?” he muses as he approaches. “Don’t wanna die, twelve? What have you got to live for? The ‘girl on fire?’” He laughs like he just made a very clever joke.

“He says he’ll help us find her,” Glimmer says.

Cato throws his head back and lets out another booming laugh. When he looks back at me, he’s smirking. “You want her to die, twelve? ‘Cuz that’s what’s going to happen when we find her.”

I take in a steady breath. “I know her better than anyone. I know where she’ll go, and I know how to track her.”

“Oh yeah?” Cato’s face has skeptical written all over it.

“She’s a hunter,” I offer. “She sets snares. We can follow them as she makes them.”

Cato looks to Marvel, who shrugs. He whispers something to the girl who stands beside him, who I remember to be Clove, the girl from his district. His eyes are thoughtful when his gaze returns to me, and he rubs the back of his neck. “Alright, twelve. You’re with us.” Glimmer helps me up, and Cato approaches with his sword held out at me. “But one wrong move, twelve? You’re done. Understand?” I nod quickly. “Okay,” Cato says, raising his chin so he’s yet another inch taller than I am. He takes my sword from Marvel’s hand, and holds it out to me. “One wrong move,” he reminds me quietly, and turns toward the cornucopia. He crosses his arms and barks, “Somebody make a fire. We’re hunting tonight, so get whatever supplies you need for the forest.”

“But don’t we have enough food here at the cornucopia?” I ask hesitantly.

Glimmer’s smile is sinister. “We aren’t hunting for animals, lover boy.”


	2. Anthem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peeta starts off on his first hunt with the careers.

“They don’t have much of a selection this year, do they?” Glimmer remarks as she rummages through the cornucopia. I’ve learned that she’s the most talkative of the careers; her mouth runs incessantly and no one can make it stop.

Marvel looks up from a bag of fruit strips, which he’s found a bounty of in a pack. The way he eats them, stuffing them into his mouth thoughtlessly, you can tell that he doesn’t go without meals in his district. I suppose I could say the same, as I haven’t ever gone without a meal in my life. But at least I appreciate it. By the size of these people, I’m sure they get more than stale bread on bad days.

“What do you mean?” Marvel asks through a mouthful of food.

Glimmer returns to the circle where the five of us we eat, me, Cato, Clove, Marvel, and the girl from four, Mallory. The boy from her district died during the bloodbath, apparently. By the way Cato made a short mention of him, I wonder if he was the one who killed him.

Glimmer has a quiver slung over her shoulder and a silver bow in her hand. “The weapons. I’d hoped for a mace or something, but at least I’ve got the bow.” Her eyes turn to me. "Can I try it out on you, lover boy?”

“That nickname’s getting old, Glimmer,” Cato mutters, but his eyes gleam with amusement. He rubs his hands together. “Everybody finish up. And someone has to refill the canteens.”

Clove starts to stand up. “I’ll take care of it.”

“No,” Cato says quickly. “I’ll just do it. You finish eating.” He gathers up the canteens and starts toward the lake ten or so yards away.

I look back down at my dry chicken strips and sigh. I don’t have much of an appetite, though I’m sure I will soon. This is the hunger games, after all.

When Cato returns he hands a canteen to each of us in turn, and when I take mine he gives me a sharp look. It’s a reminder that I’m the omega in this pack of killers. One wrong move.

“Follow me,” Cato orders, and we all jump to our feet to do as he says. I grip the handle of my sword tighter as we approach the forest, my heart thumping hard against my ribcage. The canopy of leaves above doesn’t allow much light to pass through, though the sunset doesn’t let off much light anyway.

I squint my eyes in the dimness as I walk, hoping that I won’t trip over a branch and have Cato think I'm trying to attack. That would end with a sword through my back for sure.

“How far away do you think they are, Cato?” Glimmer asks in a singsong voice.

I wonder what’s going on in that pretty blonde head of hers. It’s as if she really does think this whole thing is a game. Like she doesn’t understand the fragility of lives, including her own.

Cato doesn’t bother responding, and I don’t blame him. He puts an arm around Clove’s shoulders, who walks beside him at the head of the group. I let my eyes travel away from them to the surrounding forest, with its towering trees that are only black silhouettes against the gray light of dusk.

I’m not sure how far we walk or how long it takes; all I’m aware of are the crashing footsteps that echo in the silence, and the sporadic conversation Glimmer provides.

A blue light fills part of the sky and the anthem begins to play, and the six of us stop. I search the canopy for a space to see through and find a break in the leaves to watch.

The faces begin to flash across the sky, with the district numbers displayed beneath them. First comes the girl from district three, who is followed by the boy from four. The boy from five is next, then both from six and seven, the boy from eight, and both from nine. The capital seal flashes across the sky once more, before the darkness returns and with it complete silence.

I take in an involuntary breath of relief, and luckily no one notices. They’ve continued walking so I follow, glad that the shadows cover my smile.

Katniss is alive.

I let my mind shut off while we hike. I don’t think about the here and the now; I let my mind wander. I think about the capital. I think about the games. I think about Katniss. I wonder how things would be different, if we were back home instead of in the arena. Would Katniss ever have noticed me? Something tells me that she wouldn’t have. That she would have ended up with her tall, older friend, Gale Hawthorne. I’ve heard enough from my older brothers, one of which was in Gale’s grade, to know that he’s a hunk. But maybe my brothers are just jealous of him.

I sure am. Katniss always seems to be hanging out with him, in town and sometimes at his house. I’ve seen them while walking back to the bakery from school.

Maybe they still will end up together, if Katniss wins the games. I hope beyond hope that she does get out of here, even if it means that I don't. I couldn’t live with myself if she didn’t make it through this and I did.

“Could we take a break?” Glimmer asks with a yawn. “My legs are sore.”

“Keep moving,” Cato grunts.

I think this is the end of it, but a moment later Clove’s quieter voice fills the silence. “Maybe just a quick water break?”

Cato turns to look down at her, and the moonlight reflects in his eyes as they soften. “I suppose a short water break wouldn’t hurt.” He recomposes his features and turns to the rest of us. “Be quick, though. We aren’t stopping for long.”

I sit down on a log and lay my sword at my feet, telling myself that Cato wouldn’t kill me because he wants me to help find Katniss. I feel almost like I’m lying to myself, but I leave the sword while I drink from my canteen anyway.

“Alright, everybody up,” Cato says less than a minute after I've sat down. “I want at least a kill or two before the sun comes up.”

My stomach somersaults at his words, but I stand up and continue walking anyway. This is the hunger games, after all. You need to roll with the punches, even if they aren’t directed at you.


	3. Torches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The careers come upon a girl with a fire.

I’m sure we’ve walked for at least another four hours before Cato hears it. I swear, he has ears like a dog. The way he stops so abruptly, his back going rigid and his ears at attention, it isn’t like a human at all. All is silent at first, and I’m not sure why we’ve even stopped.

And then I hear the crack of the branch. It comes again, and I realize that it isn’t just a squirrel stepping on a twig. It’s the crackling of a fire.

My stomach plummets. Someone’s going to die tonight.

I mean, of course they are. There are people dying all the time. It’s just… I’m going to witness this. I’m going to be a part of it.

 _As long as it’s not Katniss,_ I tell myself, and keep this thought in mind. It doesn’t make me feel better though, not one bit.

The other careers break into a run and I’m forced to follow, and we’re upon the girl at the fire in a minute. She seems to have just woken up by her sleepily startles appearance. She has nowhere to go with us surrounding her, and I feel painful guilt well up in my stomach. It catches in my throat and I have to force it back down.

Cato takes a step closer to her, a smirk on his face. He raises his sword so the light of early morning glints off of the blade, and the girl starts whimpering.

“Please,” She gasps, stumbling back. “Please, just let me go. I… I’ll do anything! I have some mint leaves. I’ll give you all of them, and I have a pack-”

Cato lets out a howling laugh, and before the girl can continue her pleading he steps forward and plunges his sword straight through her stomach. She lets out a choked scream and falls back on the ground beside her fire, just inches away from the flames. Her eyes are wide and helpless, and she clutches at the bleeding wound on her torso.

But there’s nothing she can do.

Glimmer lets out a loud laugh, and the others join in. It hurts, but I force a chuckle. I have to seem like I’m with them. It’s vital to my plan.

“Nice one, Cato,” Clove says, and slaps him a high five.

Suddenly I feel sick.

“Twelve down and eleven to go!” Mallory shouts, and the cheers that ring out around the circle are deafening. “Maybe we should light some torches while we’ve got a fire,” she adds, and there are murmurs of assent. Cato and Clove have the flashlights, so the rest of us grab sticks and light them.

“What’s she got in her pack?” Glimmer asks, so Marvel picks it up and starts searching through it. “Besides mint leaves,” she adds, which brings on another round of laughter.

Marvel scowls. “Nothing.”

“What?” Glimmer asks in disappointment.

“Mint leaves are all she’s got,” Marvel repeats, and throws the bag back down on the ground.

“Well you could use those, Marvel,” Glimmer teases.

Marvel grins at her. “What are you implying?”

The banter continues for a moment before Cato interrupts. “Better clear out so they can get the body before it starts stinking.”

There are words of agreement around the group, so we turn from the body of the girl and keep moving, past a tall willow tree and to the small clearing about fifteen yards away.

“Shouldn’t we have heard the cannon by now?” Glimmer asks suddenly.

“I’d say yes,” Mallory says thoughtfully. “Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately.”

I can see Marvel’s frown in the torchlight. “Unless she isn’t dead.”

“She’s dead,” Cato assures him. “I stuck her myself.”

“Then where’s the cannon?” He counters.

“Someone should go back,” Clove says. “Make sure the job’s done.”

“Yeah, we don’t want to have to track her down twice,” Mallory agrees.

“I said she’s dead!” Cato exclaims, and so starts the raging argument. I let out a loud sigh that no one could hear over the yelling, which is sure to notify every other tribute in the arena of our presence.

“We’re wasting time!” I finally shout, because I can’t help it. “I’ll go finish her and let’s move on!”

The other voices die down, and Cato turns to look at me, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. “Go on then, lover boy,” he says, using the nickname that he just said yesterday ‘has gotten old.’ He crosses his arms over his broad chest and cocks his head to the side. “See for yourself.”

I turn on my heel and leave the clearing, pass the willow tree, and return to the fire. The girl lays on her back where we left her, her eyes glossy and her breath coming in shallow gasps.

I kneel down beside her, feeling my features soften. “I’m so sorry about this,” I whisper.

“Just… just finish me.”

I wince.

“Please,” She squeaks. “I… I can’t take it anymore.”

I bite my lip hard. I thought I could do this, but I’m not sure now. I have to remind myself that I’m doing her a favor at this point. That I’m ending her suffering.

“I’m so sorry,” I murmur again, and feel tears burn behind my eyes. I raise the sword and hold it above the girl’s heart. She takes in a deep gasp of fear, her eyes locked on mine. I hesitate, so she gives me a slight nod.

After a shaky breath, I squeeze my eyes shut and push the sword through her heart.

“Was she dead?” Cato asks when I return to the clearing.

“No. But she is now,” I reply flatly. As if on cue, the cannon rings out. “Ready to move on?” I ask, because walking will make it easier to forget. Easier to get the image of the girl with my sword through her heart out of my head.


	4. Thirst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second day of the hunger games begins.

As the sun rises, the birds and other forest creatures spring to life. Our footsteps through the forest are joined by the soft song of the birds, the screaming of squirrels when we pass their trees, and the occasional snake slithering through the brush.

“I’m hungry,” Glimmer whines, and all five of us groan. Glimmer’s always hungry.

“Suck it up,” Cato says under his breath. “We’re going to keep moving. If I’ve got any say in it, there’s gonna be a few more faces in the sky tonight, and it ain’t gonna be one of us.” He gives me a sidelong glance. “I think I underestimated you, twelve. Killing that little beggar last night-” A round of chuckles goes around. “-Showed me that you aren’t as much of a wimp as I thought.”

I nod good-naturedly, not sure how to respond to that. _Uh, thanks?_

Cato turns away. “So who’s left?”

Clove thinks for a moment. “Let me see. Um… who did we kill by the fire?”

“The girl from eight,” Marvel puts in. When Glimmer gives him a weird look, he adds, “What? She was cute! I talked to her during training.”

Glimmer rolls her eyes.

“Okay, so we killed the girl from eight,” Clove says with a nod. “So that leaves Glimmer, Marvel, me, Cato, Mallory...” she starts jokingly.

“Ha ha,” Mallory says flatly.

“Okay, fine,” Clove grins. “I guess you mean not including us.” As she lists them, she counts on her fingers. “The boy from three is alive, that redhead from five, both from ten, that little girl, Thresh, and...” she grits her teeth. “Ms. Everdeen’.”

“Ah, don’t worry Clove,” Cato says with a wide smile. “We’ll get ‘er. We’ve got lover boy, remember?”

Clove turns and gives me a sharp look. “What do you know, twelve?”

“My name’s Peeta,” I say boredly, because the nicknames are starting to bother me.

“Watch your tone,” Cato warns.

“Sorry.” My apology is dry and obviously not sincere, but he doesn’t say anything else about it. I sigh and continue. “If we want to find Katniss, we need to keep a look out for snares and other traps. Also, she’s a good climber, so we should be looking at the trees as well.” I make up this last part; I have no idea if Katniss is good at climbing. I know she’s smart, though, and if she was in a tree she’d be sure to hide herself well. I don’t mention this last part, but it gives me a sweet sense of satisfaction to know.

Cato pulls out his canteen and starts chugging. “Alright, so that means we’ve got seven left not including us.”

“We’ve got this,” Glimmer says, her green eyes flashing. “Everyone’s afraid of us. They wouldn’t dare attack.”

Does she not realize that eventually her own allies will become her enemies?

Cato stops moving, so the group grinds to a halt. He looks into his canteen and frowns. “I’m getting low. Anybody seen any water?”

“Only at the lake,” Clove says grimly.

Cato shrugs. “That’s alright. I won’t be thirsty for another few hours, anyway.”

“And I don’t mind sharing. I’ve got almost a full canteen,” Clove adds.

So we continue our trek, and soon not even the thick clusters of leaves above can block out the scorching sunlight. My own canteen is getting low, though I don’t bother saying so. Cato will learn that it’s hard to hike without water soon enough, and then we’ll be heading back to the cornucopia.

It’s painful, though, how long it takes. It isn’t until after we stop for lunch that Cato announces that we’re heading back to the lake, and at this point we’re over a mile away. We might as well lay here and die of thirst right now.

“Anybody got more water?” Cato mumbles. He’s been grumpy. Or, grumpier than usual.

Clove offers him the rest of hers, and surprisingly he takes it and drains it. I’d never take the rest of a girl’s drink like that.

“Let’s get moving,” Cato orders, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “We want to get back to the lake before we all shrivel up.”

And so begins the treacherous journey back.

Somehow, we arrive. I’m completely exhausted both physically and mentally, and practically throw myself down on the ground to sleep. No one bothers me. I drift off, and when I open my eyes again it’s to Cato’s authoritative voice echoing in the early morning air. “Everybody up. We’re hunting again.”


	5. Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The careers wake up to a raging wildfire.

ven with a full canteen of water, I’m still exhausted. I stumble a few times, and Cato keeps sharply telling me to get control of myself. But I just can’t. It’s like all of my energy has just melted away. We take a break pretty earlier on, but then, it’s hard to tell. For all I know, we’ve been walking for hours. My best form of time measurement is the sun. It travels slowly across the sky, too slowly, and by the time it disappears over the far horizon I’m sure I’ve relived today at least three times.

Cato’s in a worse mood than usual, since we didn’t make any kills today.

“There isn’t enough time to make it back before dark,” he mutters.

“Well I found these,” Glimmer reminds him, holding up two pair of sunglasses. Or nightglasses, rather. She made a show of making everyone try them on this morning, and I must admit, they’re miraculous. I didn’t know that they existed until today, and they’re definitely useful.

“There are only two,” Cato says shortly. He takes a seat on the ground against a tree and pulls out his canteen. “We’ll stay here for the night.”

All of us remove our weapons from our belts and lay them on the ground, before making ourselves comfortable beside them. I sit against a tree a few yards from Cato, and most of the others lay on forest floor itself.

“Marvel’s got first watch,” Cato says before drifting off.

I give into my sleepiness instead of considering the dangers. Anyway, Marvel wouldn’t kill me in my sleep. Not unless Cato ordered him to…

It’s too late to think about this; I’m out in a few seconds.

I don’t dream very often. When I do, it’s usually about baking breads or frosting cakes. Tonight’s dream is much different.

I’m standing in a field alone, the vast blue sky stretching infinitely over my head and the grass infinitely below. I look wildly around, hoping for some sign of escape from this expanse of sameness.

That’s when I see her. A girl, tall and lean, with a long dark braid and gray eyes. She holds a bow in her hand, a smooth wooden one with matching arrows. She watches me for a moment, before disappearing behind a tree that wasn’t there before.

“Wait!” I call to her, but she doesn’t reappear. I sprint for the tree but it seems further away the faster I run. Finally I reach it, but just as I round the tree it disappears.

I turn sharply at the sound of a soft voice. “Peeta,” she calls.

She stands only a few feet away, so I start forward again. I just want to embrace her. To hold her still so she can’t leave again. So we can be together. Loneliness is a form of torture that’s becoming harder to fight against.

I reach for her, but just as my fingers meet her braid she’s gone.

I’m not sure how many times it happens. I see her, I run for her, and she disappears. Finally I give up. I sink to my knees and let the shadows find me; I lay in a cold darkness. A strange, prickling feeling seizes my body, and I start to sweat. It’s the feeling of burning, I realize. It’s as if suddenly a strong heat is being forced down on me, and I’m roasting in it.

“Everybody up!” Cato screams.

I roll over, squeezing my eyes shut. Confusion overwhelms me, but stronger than that is the raging heat and sweat that rolls down my face.

“Fire!” Cato howls, and the word is followed by shrieks and cries of surprise.

I leap to my feet, and gasp as my eyes take in the furious wildfire that’s lit up the forest around us. The flames lick at my feet and I stumble backwards, forcing myself to take hold of my senses and follow the group.

Cato is, of course, in the lead. We all try hard to emulate him, the way he leaps over burning logs and ducks under falling branches, but each move is a breakneck maneuver. We wind around burning clusters of trees, and barely pass walls of fire that rise so quickly from the burning ground.

There are screams as we narrowly miss being burnt as we hurdle over the raging chunks of burning wood and brush. Animals stampede around us, rabbits and squirrels and even a nicely sized deer.

I don’t think, just run. A few feet ahead of me Glimmer’s coat gets caught on a flaming branch and catches fire, and she shrieks and tears the fabric from her body. I don’t bother waiting to see if she’s okay; I keep on sprinting, lunging forward when a tree crashes behind me.

When the fire finally starts to die down, Glimmer’s caught up and the rest of us seem to be in pretty good shape.

“I think that’s it,” Cato says breathlessly, hunched over and clutching his stomach.

That’s when the first fireball explodes through the air and crashes into the tree beside me.

“Nope!” Glimmer screams. “That’s definitely not it!”

So it begins again, the dodging and shrieking and narrowly missing being seared like the trees around us. I stumble as a smaller fireball whizzes over my head, and land in a pile of sizzling ashes straight on my hands and knees.

I howl at the burning pain the spikes through me, and force myself up off of the ground. I’m limping, but still, it could have been far worse.

Somehow we all get through it. There are some burns here and there, and Glimmer’s coat doesn’t seem to be wearable. She tears it up and throws it into the flames, content with only her black tank top. Maybe it’s hot now, but we all know how drastically the temperature drops when it gets dark.

We keep moving; though the flames are low and dying, they still creep along the ground.

It’s just getting dark when we come upon a small pond, with sparkling water that reflects the light of the moon that’s risen in the sky above. We’re all coughing, and a little while ago Clove started vomiting. I lost my sword in the fire, but luckily Clove was kind enough to offer me one of her knives.

I’m just happy that I’ve managed to keep my lunch.

“Water!” Glimmer squeaks with excitement, and we all prepare to get in. Who cares if there are leeches, or man-killing fish? The cool liquid seems to call to us, to draw us forth into its depths…

“It’s Katniss!” Cato says suddenly, and I freeze in place.

We all turn to the splashing figure on the other side of the pond as Katniss retreats, pulling herself up onto the land and sprinting for the woods.

“Let’s go!” Marvel cheers, and breaks into a run.

The whole group seems to forget about the water, about the burns that we wear on our skin. They charge after Katniss and I follow behind, my heart pounding hard in my chest.


	6. Tracker Jackers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peeta and the careers decide to wait Katniss out, and are met by a surprise the following morning...

When we catch up, Katniss is up in a tree looking down at us.

I guess I was right. She really is good at climbing.

I study her face, waiting for the shocked, accusing look. Now that I think of it, though, I’m not sure I want to see it. I decide not to make eye contact with her at all.

Cato grins up at her. She’s trapped. We all know it.

Katniss’ face breaks into a smile. “What’s new with you?” She asks.

Cato’s grin falls away. “Well enough,” he says bitterly. “Yourself?”

“It’s been a bit warm for my taste,” Katniss replies, and I know that she’s playing it up for the audience back in the capital. “The air’s better up here,” she continues. “Why don’t you come on up?”

Cato glares at her. “I think I will.”

“Here, take this Cato,” Glimmer offers, holding out the bow.

I can only imagine how crazy Katniss is going now, seeing the weapon that was meant for her. I look down at my knife as a distraction and start polishing it with my shirt halfheartedly. I can feel her accusing gaze on me; it’s like a physical weight in my chest.

Cato shoves the bow back at Glimmer. “No. I’ll do better with my sword.” He starts toward the tree and grabs hold of one of the thicker branches, before pulling himself up. As he begins to scale the tree Katniss climbs higher, and I’m struck with the awful image of her falling from up there. I practically scream when I hear the loud snap of a branch, but it doesn't come from under Katniss’ feet. Cato waves his arms wildly as he falls, and hits the ground with a deadening thud.

I half expect him to lay there until the sound of a cannon announces his death, but he gets to his feet immediately. He mutters something under his breath, which I assume is a series of curses.

Glimmer tries next. She climbs up a good ten feet before she stops, and sends an arrow at Katniss. I hold my breath, but I'm relieved to find that she isn’t a very good shot. The arrow gets stuck in a branch a few feet above Katniss’ head, and she pulls it from the wood swiftly. She waves it at us, a bright smile on her face.

“She thinks she’s so safe up there,” Cato growls under his breath. “We need a plan. This is idiotic.” The others begin whispering among themselves, suggesting all sorts of foolish ways to get Katniss out of the tree. Lighting it on fire? No, that’ll just start another forest fire. Convincing her that there’s a pack of some sort of wild animal that climbs trees? Thanks a lot, Glimmer.

Finally I speak. I seem to be the only one of us who has any common sense. “Oh, let her stay up there,” I mutter. “It’s not like she’s going anywhere. We’ll deal with her in the morning.”

Cato agrees, so we make camp beneath the towering tree where Katniss sits. I wonder what she thinks of me, now. Probably nothing good. I just wish I could tell her that I’m doing it for her.

“You’ve got first watch, Glimmer,” Cato grunts, so Glimmer takes a seat against Katniss’ tree.

I make myself comfortable by a dry log, laying my head against it and settling into the leafy foliage. I haven’t even considered ticks, but I don’t think one of those will kill me. It’s more likely to be a knife in my back.

I can’t get to sleep. It’s almost like I’m too taken by fatigue to give in to it. It’s also made more difficult by the fact that Katniss is just out of reach, as usual.

The anthem plays, and I don’t bother trying to catch a glimpse of tonights deaths. I squeeze my eyes shut and force my mind to turn off. Eventually it works, and I slip away into a dreamless sleep.

The first thing I register are the screams and the roaring of some creature.

The second thing I register is the stabbing pain, and that’s when I realize that it isn’t a roaring animal. It’s a swarm of bees.

I scramble up from the ground and sprint, not knowing where I’m going, jut that I have to escape the stinging insects. Cato is just ahead of me. “To the lake!” He screams, and I follow.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve been stung. Maybe once, maybe ten times. It feels worse than I remember bee stings being, which sets my mind racing. I begin to wonder if these aren’t ordinary bees, which is when I realize.

No bee would be following us this far as we tear through the woods. Not even a wasp, I don’t think. Except for one species, which were created by the capital years ago.

No, these are certainly not ordinary bees. These are tracker jackers.

When we reach the lake we throw ourselves in, ridding ourselves of any of the evil wasps that have managed to take refuge in our clothing. I can relax as I settle back into the cool water, let it swirl around me and hold me afloat.

Then a thought flashes through my head.

Katniss.

I force myself from the water as quickly as my tightening limbs are able, and it’s only when I’ve broken into a run that I realize how immediate the effects of tracker jacker venom are. The world tilts this way and that, spinning around me and making my feet lose contact with the earth above. Wait, above? How can the earth be above?

I crash face-first into the ground and lay there for a moment, perplexed. My sense returns, at least a little, and I push myself up to keep running.

I have to make sure Katniss got out safely. It’s all that matters.

Focus. Focus on Katniss.

I push on faster, and find the path back to the clearing where we stayed last night. My eyes catch on Marvel’s spear, which he must have dropped during the sprint to the lake. I pick it up with trembling fingers and continue, all the way to the clearing.

I lift it above my head as I break through the trees, ready to attack if need be.

I freeze in place when I catch sight of Katniss, crouching beside the still body of Glimmer holding the bow. I only stare at her. Why is she just kneeling there? Does she not realize that the careers could be back any minute?

I lower the spear. “What are you still doing here?” I whisper urgently. Katniss frowns, confusion taking over her features. “Are you mad?” I insist, poking her with the blunt end of the spear to get her attention. “Get up! Get up!” I urge, and surprisingly she does. I push her away. “Run!” I shout. I can hear it now, the loud set of footsteps that pound through the foliage. I don’t care, though. Let him hear me. “Run!” I scream again, and only turn to look at him once I’m sure Katniss is moving.

Cato’s furious. He doesn’t ask questions. Doesn’t let me provide an excuse.

I have none to give.

He raises his sword in the air and brings it down in one swift movement.

My flesh screams as the blade slices through my thigh, severing the skin and muscle. I’ve been burned. I’ve been beaten. I’ve been attacked by tracker jackers.

But nothing has prepared me for this pain.


	7. Rule Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Peeta's wound, he must decide what to do next.

Cato leaves me for dead, and as time melts away I begin to wish that he’d just finished the job. I lay in the clearing for who knows how long, sure that I’ll be gone any moment. I can almost hear the cannon, my cannon, ringing in my ears.

Finally I decide that I should make an attempt to live. I’m easy prey for animals and tributes alike, laying here in the open. And if the tracker jackers come back…

I groan and roll over a bit, careful not to let my wound touch the ground. I don’t even try to look at it. I’m not sure I could handle it if I did.

Over the next few minutes, I manage to get up on my hands and knees. It feels like an achievement, a painful one, but an achievement none the less.

But once I’m propped up like this and ready to move, I have to wonder, _Okay, now what?_

I start to ponder the most important things for survival. Food, obviously. And shelter. Most importantly, though, is water. I think of the lake, but that’s too close to the careers. There’s the small, spring-fed pond we found, but I have no idea where that is.

It’s worth a try.

I start off slowly, but as my vigilance increases the need for water grows more intense. I pick up speed, staying low and keeping an eye out for any sign.

My mind grows foggy after the first ten minutes, and as the pain in my leg sparks up my vision becomes spotted. I lay back down on the ground and try to hold back the tears, clenching my jaw and forcing the pain out of my thoughts.

After a few more minutes pass I manage to get up again, and continue my search for a water source. I’m not sure I’ll ever find it. I grow more and more hopeless, practically dragging myself forward, when my hand meets the cool surface of water.

_A river!_

I crawl into the shallow water just beside the bank, and though the cold, rippling water stings, I know it’s good for my leg. Washing out any dirt that got into it is important. I don’t have to be an apothecary to know _that_.

After a moment, I make my way across the stream to the other side. Luckily for me the current is rather slow, so it won’t carry me away with it. When I reach the opposite shore, I get to work on camouflaging. If I’m going to heal, I need to be hidden from predators.

I start with my face, finding some clay at the edge of the bank and coating my skin with the gray substance until I’m satisfied. I tear up some moss and lay it around my neck and body once I’m situated in the rocky brush, add some gravel for an extra touch, and then lay still. If only I had a mirror. I just have to hope that I’m disguised well enough.

The day passes on rather quickly, and I begin to grow drowsy. The sun goes down. The moon goes up. The anthem plays, revealing the deaths of Glimmer and Mallory. I feel a slight pang in my stomach at the familiar faces. They might have been cruel, but I’d known them personally. We weren’t friends, maybe not even true allies, but I’ve seen a lot of them the past few days. It just feels strange that they’re gone.

I sleep, and time passes. I can tell by the way that the sun comes up, then goes down. There’s never an in between. It’s night, it’s day, it’s night, it’s day.

I’m not hungry anymore. I force myself to drink water a few times, but the thought of food makes my stomach tie itself in a tight not.

I begin to wonder if I’m not dead, after all. Nothing feels real anymore. My whole body is numb, my brain is foggy, and the world around me doesn’t make much sense.

What I _really_ can’t make sense of is the booming voice that fills the air one night.

“Congratulations to the six remaining tributes!” He says. I vaguely recognize the voice as Claudius Templesmith, the head game maker. “I’d like to announce a rule change,” he continues, and there’s a slight pause. “Under this new rule, both tributes from the same district will be declared winners if they are the last two alive.” There are a few moments of silence before he repeats himself.

I don’t understand what he means. Two can win?

I give up on trying to make sense of it. I drift off again, letting the drowsiness take me once more.

 


	8. Katniss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katniss and Peeta are reunited.

My eyes flash open the following morning and suddenly it all makes sense. The words of Claudius Templesmith that permeated the dark sky last night come back to me, and I realize in an instant what he meant.

Two can win.

Katniss and I can go home.

Both of us.

Together.

It’s such a painfully beautiful thought, the two of us being home. Beautiful in its perfection. Painful in its improbability. Even if Katniss were able to locate me, there’s no way I could get better. The medicine I need is expensive enough, and this far into the games I’m not sure President Snow himself could afford it.

But it’s still such a grand thought, Katniss and I surviving and going back to twelve together, that I let myself consider it. I imagine all sorts of scenarios; Katniss and I having a picnic, Katniss and I watching the rain together, me making Katniss dinner. We’d be neighbors, after all. Katniss, Haymitch and I. What a grand little neighborhood we’d have in the victor’s village.

I must fall asleep at some point while daydreaming, because suddenly my eyes are flashing open to the sharp sound of a stick cracking under something- or someone’s- foot. I let my eyes fall shut again and hold very still, wishing that my heart would slow down. I swear, everyone in the arena can hear it with how loudly it’s beating…

I hear the footsteps coming closer, and fight the instinct to open my eyes.

The instinct wins.

I peer at the figure that stands on a mound of gravel a few yards away, holding a bow at the ready and scanning the area. Her braid is messy and some loose hair clings to her face with sweat, but she’s beautiful just the same.

My voice is dry when I speak, but at least I can make sound at all. “You here to finish me off, sweetheart?”

Katniss turns sharply to look in my direction, her eyes sweeping the banks and vegetation. She frowns, her eyebrows knitting together and her mouth set in a straight line. “Peeta?” she murmurs. “Where are you?” She comes closer, studying the surrounding area as if waiting for me to materialize. “Peeta?” She repeats when she’s only a few feet from my hidden body.

“Well, don’t step on me,” I croak, closing my eyes again. I mean to sound teasing, but the words come out weak and dry.

Katniss stumbles backward in surprise, and after a moment I open my eyes to divulge my hiding spot. Katniss takes in a sharp inhale, her eyes widening in shock. I laugh for the first time in days, feeling truly happy. If I die now, I’ll be content. Because I got to see Katniss again.

“Close your eyes again,” She commands, so I do as she says. She crouches beside me a moment later. “I guess all of those hours of decorating cakes paid off.”

I smile weakly. “Yes, frosting. The final defense of the dying.”

Katniss’ grin falls away. “You’re not going to die.”

I swallow, and my heart leaps at the effort it takes. “Says who?”

“Says me,” Katniss says firmly. “We’re on the same team now, you know.”

“So I heard,” I say softly. “Nice of you to find what’s left of me.”

Katniss pulls out her water bottle and lowers it to my lips to help me drink. I gulp down the liquid slowly, but don’t take much. I don’t feel very thirsty right now.

“Did Cato cut you?” She asks me, capping the bottle.

“Left leg,” I confirm. “Up high.”

“Let’s get you in the stream,” Katniss suggests. “Wash you off so I can see what kind of wounds you’ve got.”

I suddenly have a thought. “Lean down a minute first,” I tell her. “Need to tell you something.”

She leans forward and puts her ear by my lips, so I whisper, “Remember, we’re madly in love, so it’s okay to kiss me any time you feel like it.”

Katniss pulls away quickly and lets out a loud laugh. “Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.” She turns to the stream thoughtfully, then back to me. “Let’s get you in the water. I’ll help, okay?”

I try and nod, but it sends a sharp wave of nausea through my body. I take in a deep breath but force a smile, not wanting to worry Katniss. “Let’s do it.”

She puts her hand under the back of my head to guide my movement, but I find that I can’t move on my own at all without the pain that comes with it.

“Let’s try something else,” Katniss says, keeping her tone pleasant. “I’ll try and move you, okay?” She holds one of my arms and puts the other around my torso, and starts trying to drag me to the water. An icy pain rushes up my spine and I clench my teeth together hard, but it’s no use. I can’t help crying out a few times, and each time the frown on Katniss’ face grows deeper. I try so hard to ignore it, to make it easy for her, but it hurts so much. I lay about two feet from the water’s edge, free of the plants that had begun to grow over my body but still unable to get into the river. I grind my teeth together as Katniss attempts to move me again, but the pain has grown severe and tears begin to leak from my eyes.

“Look, Peeta, I’m going to roll you into the stream,” Katniss says, a nervous edge in her voice. “It’s shallow here, okay?”

I swallow hard. “Excellent.”

Katniss kneels down on the other side of me and puts her hands on my shoulder. “On three,” she says. “One, two, three!” I grind my teeth together and she pushes me onto my side, but when my leg touches the ground I let out an agonized yelp. She gets me rolled over once before she stops, and painful relief courses through me. Now I lay at the very edge of the water, less than an arm’s reach away.

“Okay, change of plans,” Katniss says. “I’m not going to put you all the way in.”

I let out a shaky breath. “No more rolling?”

“That’s all done,” she assures me. “Let’s get you cleaned up. Keep an eye on the woods for me, okay?” She turns around and digs out her two water bottles and a water skin from her bag, and I focus my attention on the woods. I register the cool sensation of water soaking my body as Katniss dumps it over me, but I don’t look away from the forest. I have this one job, and I aim to do it well.

I feel Katniss’ trembling fingers as she unzips my jacket, then slowly unbuttons my shirt. I try to help as she pulls them off of me, but it takes an extreme amount of effort. My undershirt seems to be stuck to my body with hardened mud, and Katniss has to cut it away with her knife.

“You’ve got some burns here,” Katniss observes, tracing a finger up my chest gently. I shiver, feeling hot and cold at the same time. “And some stings, too. I can treat them, but we can’t have you laying here in the mud.”

It takes several minutes of effort, pain and tears, but somehow Katniss gets me propped up against a dry boulder a foot or so away. I sit still as she washes the dirt from my hair and skin, and pulls the tracker jacker stingers from the lumps where they’re buried. I flinch a bit as she tears them from the sensitive flesh, but compared to the pain in my leg they’re a breeze. I sigh with relief when Katniss applies some leaves to the wounds, taking away the pain entirely. I’m just not sure what she’s going to do about my leg.

I watch as she washes my clothes and spreads them over some boulders to dry, her face an image of complete concentration. When she returns she applies some cream to my burn, before digging through her medical kit for something. She pulls out two pills and holds them out to me. “Swallow these." I do as she says, and she adds, “You must be hungry.”

“Not really,” I admit. “It’s funny, I haven’t been hungry in days.”

Katniss frowns and reaches into her bag again. She holds out some groosling, and I recoil in distaste. My stomach somersaults just at the thought of eating it.

“Peeta, we need to get some food in you,” Katniss pleads.

I swallow again, my dry throat screaming. “It’ll just come right back up.” By the imploring look she gives me, though, I eat a bit of dry apple she offers me. “Thanks. I’m much better now, really,” I insist. My eyelids seem to grow heavy all at once. “Can I sleep now, Katniss?”

“Soon,” Katniss says gently. “I need to get a look at your leg first.”

I’m cooperative, of course, letting her pry my boots and socks and, very slowly, my pants from my body. I can tell by the way her eyes flash and her nose wrinkles that she can see the severity of the wound.

“Pretty awful, huh?” I ask, searching her face.

Katniss swallows. “So-so.” She shrugs, but it’s quite obviously an act to make me feel better. For some reason it touches my heart. “You should see some of the people they bring my mother from the mines,” she continues. “First thing to do is clean it well.”

She pulls out a piece of plastic and slides it carefully under me, before running some water over my leg. I clench my teeth and pretend it doesn’t hurt, but it does. Extremely.

“Why don’t we give it some air, and...” Katniss’ expression is hesitant, and I feel a wave of pity for her. She has to endure the pressure of keeping me alive.

What a burden I must be to her.

“And then you’ll patch it up?” I suggest.

“That’s right,” Katniss says, looking almost relieved. “In the meantime, you eat these.” She hands me some dried pears and walks away to wash my other clothes. When she returns a few minutes later, she says, “We’re going to have to experiment some.”

I squeeze my eyes shut as she begins the series of ‘experiments.’ She presses something into my wound, and I can feel a wet a substance begin to run from it. I don’t know if it’s blood or something else, but I push the thought out of mind. I’m trusting Katniss on this.

I watch her face, and realize that she looks as sick as I feel. “Katniss?” I ask quietly. She turns and meets my eyes, and I mouth, _“What about that kiss?”_

Katniss goes into a fit of laughter, and I ask sweetly, “What’s wrong?”

“I… I’m no good at this,” Katniss says. “I’m not my mother. I’ve no idea what I’m doing and I hate pus!” She lets out a small groan, followed by a louder one after she rinses my wound again.

“How do you hunt?” I marvel.

“Trust me. Killing things is much easier than this. Although for all I know, I am killing you,” she admits.

“Can you speed it up a little?”

Katniss’ eyebrows furrow. “No. Shut up and eat your pears.”

I nibble at the food as Katniss continues doing who knows what to my leg, and I must admit, it feels almost better. When I finish eating, I ask, “What next, Dr. Everdeen?”

“Maybe I’ll put some of the burn ointment on it,” she says thoughtfully. “I think it helps with infection anyway. And wrap it up?” She pulls out a small backpack and holds it out to me. “Here, cover yourself with this and I’ll wash your shorts.”

“Oh, I don’t care if you see me,” I say with a slight shrug.

“You’re just like the rest of my family,” Katniss says, her tone sharp. “I care, all right?” She turns around, her face bright red and her eyes narrow. I can’t help grinning, and pull off my shorts carefully without letting the fabric touch my cut. I toss them into the water, in front of Katniss, and say, “You know, you’re kind of squeamish for such a lethal person. I wish I’d let you give Haymitch a shower after all.”

“What’s he sent you so far?” Katniss asks, busy washing my shorts.

“Not a thing,” I reply, and then the thought crosses my mind. “Why, did you get something?”

Katniss is quiet for a moment. Then, “Burn medicine. Oh, and some bread.”

I sigh. “I always knew you were his favorite.”

Katniss snorts. “Please, he can’t stand being in the same room as me.”

“Because you’re just alike,” I say quietly.

While Katniss dries the clothes, I doze off. I fall asleep to one perfect thought: Maybe, just maybe, Katniss and I really will get to go home.


	9. The Cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katniss brings Peeta to a small cave near the river.

I wake to Katniss prodding my shoulder. “Peeta, we’ve got to go now,” she says softly.

I puzzle at this, not having considered moving from the river. “Go? Go where?”

“Anywhere from here. Downstream maybe.” Katniss smiles sadly. “Somewhere we can hide you until you’re stronger.”

She helps me into my clothes, which are slightly moist in some places but mostly dry. She packs my socks and shoes in her backpack, explaining that she wants to walk through the river. She removes her own footwear before helping me to stand.

I feel the blood rush from my face as my leg takes on the weight of the rest of me. I take in a shaky breath, and look to Katniss with pleading eyes.

“Come on,” she says. “You can do this.”

I lean into Katniss for support, my arm over her shoulder as I hunch over and start off. I keep reminding myself that I’m supposed to be moving, but I have a strong impulse to drop to the ground and sleep. Exhaustion swirls in my head like a foggy whirlpool, and with the pain intertwined in the threads of misty thoughts it’s too much to handle. I’m not sure how far downstream we get before my vision starts spotting, and Katniss helps me to sit down on the bank. I sit with my head between my knees, rocking back and forth slightly as Katniss pats my back. I focus on this one thing instead of how overwhelming the pain is, and the steady rhythm of her palm on my back helps me to feel a bit better.

A few minutes pass before Katniss whispers, “Can you stand?”

I take in a deep gulp of oxygen and try my best- with Katniss’ help, of course- to get to my feet. Standing is a small victory; walking is the real feat. Katniss practically drags me along to a small, cave-like rock structure twenty yards away.

Cold chills seize my body all at once, and I feel the blood leave my face again. I take in a shallow breath, but try and keep up with Katniss’ movements. When we reach the cave, Katniss covers the dirt floor with thick pine needles and spreads out a sleeping bag. She helps me into it, and I lay almost comfortably in the warmth. I don’t think much about the actions as Katniss has me take more medicine and drink water, but when she offers me some fruit I push it away.

I watch as Katniss uses thick green branches and vines to cover the entrance of the cave, and ends up tearing it down. Her frustration is so painful to watch.

“Katniss,” I call quietly, and she comes to sit beside me. I’m vaguely aware of her brushing my hair from my eyes when I whisper, “Thanks for finding me.”

“You would have found me if you could,” she says, resting the back of her hand on my forehead. A sad look crosses her face as she studies mine.

“Yes,” I say weakly. “Look, if I don’t make it back-”

Katniss interrupts me, her gaze intense. “Don’t talk like that. I didn’t drain all of that pus for nothing.”

I try again. “I know. But just in case I don’t-”

Katniss puts a finger to my lips and I fall quiet. “No, Peeta, I don’t even want to discuss it.”

“But I-” I murmur when she draws her hand away, but once again my words are cut off. All at once Katniss is leaning down and pressing her lips to mine, and my heart gives a great leap against my ribcage. It ends as quickly as it began, and Katniss is saying, “You’re not going to die. All right?”

My head is still spinning. “All right.”


	10. Blood Poisoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katniss discovers that Peeta has blood poisoning.

Katniss leaves the cave, and I lay alone in the darkness thinking about… thinking about everything. There’s not a single thought that I go over in my brain, but a series of several thoughts. How can I pick one? Everything is so overwhelming, so confusing, so perfectly perfect while also dreadfully dreadful.

My lips still prickle where Katniss’ met them just a minute ago, but it could be the fever. I can tell by the random rounds of icy chills that send my stomach trembling that I’m sicker than Katniss is acting. Why else would I feel like my body is being torn into a million pieces and growing tighter together all at once?

I try and sleep to shake all of the contradicting feelings from my body and mind, and let my eyes fall shut. I slip into a cold, unsteady sleep. I’m not sure how long I lay this way before I feel something warm and soft against my mouth, and my eyes fly open. Katniss draws back, her eyes gleaming.

I beam up at her, wishing she could sit there looking down at me forever. I’d be content with that.

“Peeta, look what Haymitch has sent you,” she says, holding up a silver bowl. My heart somersaults, and I wince at the thought of food, but I smile to please Katniss.

She unscrews the top and scoops some up in a small spoon. She blows on it, before lowering it to my lips. I open them slowly, but realize as the broth reaches my tongue that I can’t.

I spit it out before I can stop myself, and Katniss frowns.

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “I… I’m really not hungry now.”

“You’re going to eat,” Katniss says sharply.

“Katniss,” I plead.

She glares at me so hard that I wince, and she gathers up some more broth on the spoon. The scent fills my nose and I turn my head away. No matter what I feel for Katniss, she can’t make me. She can’t.

But she can.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Katniss says after the first twenty minutes, and a mischievous smile plays on her lips. “For every three bites, you get one kiss.”

My eyes narrow on her face. “You’re so manipulative,” I say in mock disgust, but my heart is pounding and my mind racing. She only stares at me, so I sigh.

“Alright, alright. I mean, I’ll try.”

The first few bites are agonizing, but after a while my stomach seems to settle and I find myself enjoying the soup. I drain the whole bowl before Katniss lets me sleep, and I find drifting off into a comfortable slumber is easier with a belly full of good food.

When I wake up the following morning, Katniss is gone. I search the cave frantically with my eyes, looking in the shadowed corners, but there’s no sign of her. I think of the remaining careers, Cato and Clove. Could they have gotten her?

I struggle to sit up, not sure of how I’ll fight them off but sure that I’ll find a way. And if they’ve killed her, they’ll have to kill me too.

 _I won’t see her face in the sky tonight,_ I tell myself.

I can’t seem to get into a sitting position. Even if it weren’t for the pain, I don’t think I have the strength. I feel better than I did yesterday, but still not well enough to move much on my own.

Katniss appears suddenly at the entrance to the cave, her eyes trained on me.

“I woke up and you were gone,” I say breathlessly. “I was worried about you.”

Katniss laughs and lowers me back down in the sleeping bag. “You were worried about me? Have you taken a look at yourself lately?”

I give her a hard look. “I thought Cato and Clove might have found you. They like to hunt at night.”

“Clove?” Katniss repeats with a frown. “Which one is that?”

“The girl from District Two. She’s alive, right?” I ask, relaxing a bit. Katniss is safe. That’s all that matters.

Katniss nods. “Yes, there’s just them and us and Thresh and Foxface. That’s what I nicknamed the girl from five,” she adds. She studies my face. “How do you feel?”

“Better than yesterday. This is an enormous improvement over the mud. Clean clothes and medicine and a sleeping bag...” I trail off and meet her eyes. “And you.”

Her eyes gleam, and I catch her hand in mine as she reaches to touch the side of my face. I press her fingers to my lips, my eyes not leaving hers.

“No more kisses for you until you’ve eaten,” Katniss says, a laugh in her voice.

She helps me sit up against the wall and feeds me mushed up berries, which taste awful- but of course I don’t say so. She offers me some groosling, which I shake my head at.

“You didn’t sleep,” I observe, watching her slow, tired movements as she packs up the remaining food.

Katniss shrugs. “I’m all right.”

“Sleep now,” I tell her. “I’ll keep watch. I’ll wake you if anything happens.” She doesn’t respond, so I add, “Katniss, you can’t stay up forever.”

By her expression, I know I’ve won even before she speaks. “All right. But just for a few hours. Then you wake me.”

I nod, so Katniss smooths out the sleeping bag beside me and lays down on it. I sit leaning back against the wall watching the cave’s entrance, and when I glance down at Katniss a moment later her eyes are open. “Go to sleep,” I whisper, brushing her hair from her face. She closes her eyes, and I continue to run my hand through the dark hair that’s no longer in its signature braid.

She looks so peaceful in slumber, with the even rise and fall of her chest and the slight flutter of her eyelashes when distant sounds enter her ears. I don’t stop caressing her hair for maybe half an hour, and when I do it’s only because my arm has grown tired. I don’t look away from her face, though. No, that would be harder than almost anything else I’ve faced in the games. I don’t want to look away and risk losing another moment of watching her. Watching the girl I’ve marveled at for so long, the girl I’ve wished knew me for all these years. And now she does. And I think that maybe, just maybe, she feels almost as strongly as I do.

I think I might love her.

No, I don’t think. I know.

I love Katniss Everdeen.

When she wakes, it’s late afternoon. Katniss’ eyes fly open and she turns sharply toward the cave’s entrance, taking in the change of the sun. “Peeta, you were supposed to wake me after a couple of hours.”

“For what? Nothing’s going on here. Besides-” I say softly, looking into those beautiful gray eyes of hers “-I like watching you sleep. You don’t scowl. Improves your looks a lot.”

Katniss scowls at this, which makes me smile. She reaches out to touch my cheek, and for a moment I think it’s a romantic gesture, before I see her frown. “Have you been drinking water?”

I hesitate. “Yes.” I only say it so she won’t be angry at me; water never crossed my mind.

Katniss lifts one of my water containers and tests its weight, her expression a show of skepticism. She reaches into her backpack and hands me some fever pills, and doesn’t look away until I drink two quarts of water. I feel like I might explode, but at least Katniss is happy.

She applies some of those chewed-up leaves to my stingers and cream to my burn, before carefully unwrapping my leg.

Her mouth falls open, and I’m not surprised. I know what she sees.

“Well, there’s more swelling, but the pus is gone,” Katniss says hesitantly.

My eyes soften. “I know what blood poisoning is, Katniss. Even if my mother isn’t a healer.”

“You’re just going to have to outlast the others, Peeta,” Katniss says firmly. “They’ll cure it back in the Capitol when we win.”

_Oh, Katniss._

“Yes, that’s a good plan,” I say lightly.

Katniss nods. “You have to eat. Keep your strength up. I’m going to make you soup.”

“Don’t light a fire,” I say as Katniss stands to leave. “It’s not worth it.”

Katniss turns and eyes me steadily. “We’ll see.”

**Author's Note:**

> Your comments and kudos are very encouraging :)
> 
> Thanks for reading. New chapters should be posted daily!
> 
> Check out my blog for more fanfics and writing/book related posts: writersblok.net


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